Egyptian Court Orders Halt to April Parliamentary Vote

President Mohamed Mursi’s decision
to hold legislative elections starting next month was suspended
by an Egyptian court, adding to turmoil since the 2011 uprising.

Judge Abdel Meguid el-Moqanan read the ruling in court
yesterday after more than a dozen cases were filed contesting
the legality of the elections law. The court also ordered that
the law be referred to the Supreme Constitutional Court.

The ruling further complicates a transition process that’s
already been marred by political squabbling and sporadic
violence. It came as clashes continued in downtown Cairo and in
the Suez Canal city of Port Said, where five people died this
month in violence between protesters and security forces.

Mourad Ali, media adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood’s
Freedom and Justice Party, which nominated Mursi for last year’s
presidential vote, said: “We respect the rulings of the
judiciary and we see no problem in referring the elections law
to the constitutional court.” In comments posted on the party’s
official Facebook page, he said they await the decision of the
elections commission supervising the vote, adding that he
doesn’t believe the party will appeal the ruling.

In its reasons for the ruling, the court said the upper
house of parliament, which holds temporary legislative powers,
should have returned the draft election law to the
constitutional court to determine whether amendments met the
court’s requirements, the state-run Middle East News Agency
reported.

‘Uncertain Situation’

“The court decision will definitely add to the uncertainty
of the situation in Egypt, but we’re already in an uncertain
situation,” Mona Mansour, chief economist at Cairo-based
investment bank CI Capital, said by phone. “Unless there’s
political unity, there will be no IMF loan,” she said.
Political bickering has delayed Egypt’s bid to secure $4.8
billion from the International Monetary Fund.

Mursi will appeal the ruling, Al Arabiya television
reported, citing an unnamed adviser to the head of state. The
presidency later said in an e-mailed statement that it “fully
respects” the court decision without saying whether it would
appeal.

Egypt’s main opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front,
has rejected Mursi’s plan to start the election next month,
saying the country must first be stabilized. The bloc, which
demands changes to the recently adopted constitution, has said
it plans to boycott the vote. Mursi and his supporters have said
the election is key to stabilizing the country

Mursi has cited the proximity of parliamentary elections to
resist pressure from secular opponents and some Islamist allies
for a national unity government.

Rushed Vote

The political divisions have spurred regular protests and
clashes that have added to the difficulty of reviving an economy
growing at its slowest pace in two decades.

The opposition accuses Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood of
seeking to consolidate their own power at the expense of the
national interest. His supporters say opposition protests
obstruct stabilization efforts.

Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the Salvation Front, said
after the ruling that the president and Brotherhood “wanted to
rush the vote to distract people from the real economic problems
and continue their power grab.”

Human rights lawyer Gamal Eid said the court decision marks
the latest confrontation between the presidency and the
judiciary.

“I don’t think these face-offs between Mursi and the
courts are going to stop any time soon,” he said. “The
presidency is seeking to challenge the independence of the
judiciary and dominate it like other state institutions.”

The Supreme Constitutional court has clashed repeatedly
with Mursi since he came to power in June. The president has
repeatedly said he respects the independence of the judiciary.